Memory
by RedLightsRedFights
Summary: Tesayumi Akiyama joined Fairy Tail with her twin brother, Kazuyuki, when they were very young. Finding an unlikely role model in Laxus Dreyer and working with Kaz in Team Twin Heart, Tesa feels invincible. But when she's defeated by Gajeel Redfox, she realizes how real her weaknesses are. Who knew it would take the same Dragon Slayer to remind her how real her strengths are too.
1. Phantom Lord

_**AUTHOR'S NOTE::: First chapter rewritten as of 5/1/15**_

"So this is Fairy Tail…"

Two small figures stood outside the Fairy Tail Guild Hall, staring up at the large banner that overhung the entrance. Upon it was the image of a winged creature with a pointed tail.

The two children nearly looked exactly the same, both being the same height, carrying the same strange, stormy gray hair, and the same silver colored eyes. They wore similar outfits, robes of some sort, though one was white, and the other black. It also was slightly evident that the one in white was a boy, and the one in black was a girl. The boy had a katana strapped to his back, though the blade looked a little too large for him, and the girl had on strange fingerless gloves that were missing the palms on them.

"We can be safe here," said the boy softly, staring up at the building with a calculating look in his eyes, making him seem far older than he was, "Start new. Put everything behind us."

The girl nodded, a sad, far off look in her eyes, "That letter we found from father… you think it was true?"

The boy looked over at the girl, reaching over and gripping her shoulder, "He said we could trust Makarov. That he would take care of us."

The girl reached up and gripped the boy's hand over her shoulder and closed her eyes, "I can't help but remember what happened with the last man who we thought could take care of us…"

The boy turned the girl to face him, now gripping both of her shoulders. It made her eyes open, and she stared at the boy with her silver gaze, eyes full of pain.

"This is different," the boy said in an even yet firm tone, "We took him on his word. This time, we have father's word," he released her and pulled a crumpled letter, opening it and holding it out to her, "We can trust him. He would never lead us astray."

The girl nodded and then smiled at the boy, "Alright," she said, "Let's meet our new family."

*.*.*

It was never questioned where the Akiyama twins came from, and neither of them ever spoke about it. But Fairy Tail was a guild of acceptance. No one ever questioned them or harassed them about it. They were simply taken in as they were, just like all the other lost children that arrived in the Guild Hall.

Tesayumi, or Tesa as she went by, the sister of the twins, became known for her excitable and humorous attitude. She was always seen making others laugh, and despite the fact that the twins had to have come from a terrible place before they joined Fairy Tail, no one had once seen her cry or wallow in sorrow.

The brother of the twins, Kazuyuki, or Kaz, was a little more callous than Tesa. He had a calm, serious demeanor that seemed too mature for his age even when he was small. And while Tesa was hardly ever seen without a smile, to get a grin out of Kaz was a monumental feat. He was never outright rude, but it was hard to see the boy as kind with his cold personality.

Most unique about the twins, however, was their magic.

Tesa's magic was known as Imprint Magic. Any mage she touched skin-to-skin, she was able to get an Imprint of their magical abilities, a flawless and exact transfer of their own unique powers. This ability had its disadvantages, however. She could only sustain the Imprint for a limited amount of time. The stronger the magic, the shorter the time limit, and if she tried to Imprint from a mage far stronger than her, it could end up making her body implode.

Kaz took on what was considered as a "two-part" magic. The first part was his ability to create and sustain what could only be called Elementals. At the moment, he had four, Flame, Wind, River, and Stone. In a sense, each of his Elementals were a part of him, a piece of his inner self.

There was a time long ago, before the twins joined Fairy Tail, when Kaz used to be rambunctious, loud and wild. But when he discovered how to create these Elementals, it required him to seal a piece of himself into each one. The first was Flame, who took on all of Kaz's more angered emotions. When Flame was created, Kaz no longer expressed his once short temper. By the time Kaz created Wind, River, and Stone, he was as he was today, next to expressionless and cold.

This magic was known as Fusion Magic, for in order to create any one of those Elementals, Kaz had to fuse a piece of himself into the element. Once the Elemental was created, it could only remain sustained in this world for as long as Kaz had magical energy. Otherwise, they had to remain sealed in a rift, which in Kaz's case was in the form of a katana.

However, the true reason behind the magic's name was that Kaz had the power to not only summon these Elementals, but fuse his own body to them as well. It gave him an entirely new appearance and a great increase in power. However Kaz rarely fused with his Elementals, preferring to fight alongside them with his sword, which steel was stronger the more Elementals it contained.

Kaz's magic was a lot more complicated than Tesa's, but in a way, they were linked. Both of them had to rely on outside sources in order to be effective, which might not exactly be ideal. Tesa's magic also didn't work on Kaz. She was never exactly sure why, but she could never make an Elemental herself. She could only get an Imprint from his summons.

This magic had never been seen before by any of the mages in Fairy Tail, and when questioned about it, the twins merely revealed that it was lost magic they'd learned when they were very young.

As the years went on, the twins formed their own Team in the Guild called Twin Heart. They became infamous and easily recognized by most of Magnolia and other Guilds. Together, the twins were a force to be reckoned with, but neither had been able to reach S-Class yet.

It had been nearly ten years since they joined Fairy Tail, but they still looked very similar. Keeping their odd gray hair long and up in ponytails near the top of their scalps, from behind it was next to impossible to tell which was which besides their clothing. But from the front, Kaz's face had a more angular jaw, while Tesa's was heart shaped. Kaz wore white samurai robes, and the same katana he had from when they were kids was now sheathed at his hip. Tesa was in a black gi, the baggy outfit hiding most of her feminine physic.

The twins stepped into the Guild Hall side by side, Tesa with a bandage on her forehead and cheek, but beaming all the same, and Kaz somehow looking both bored _and_ irritable.

"I told you that it was a stupid idea to just rush in there like that," he said to her as they walked further inside.

"Tch, that mage was no issue," said Tesa, grinning over at him, "Besides, I Imprinted from Stone! My defense was… rock solid," she elbowed Kaz in the ribs, earning a mildly disgusted glare from him.

"It still could have disintegrated your entire form if you weren't careful," said Kaz, obviously deciding to completely ignore her epic pun, "You're lucky you only got two cracks from that blow."

"Hey Tesa, Kaz!"

Tesa looked around and smiled as one of her close friends, Levy McGarden came running toward them, smiling. It had been a while since the twins had been at the Guild Hall, and as Levy greeted them, others took notice of their arrival. Mira Jane smiled at them from behind the bar and waved. Cana gave them a good natured thumbs up from her barstool. Droy and Jet, the other two members of Levy's team, Shadow Gear, appeared behind her.

"Tesa, you always come back banged up, can't you be more careful?" Levy laughed.

"Where's the fun in that?" said Tesa with a laugh, "I had to knock those Dark wizards back one way or another!"

"She means turn into stone and leap in front of an attack to shield the villagers," said Kaz evenly, folding his arms.

"Hey, Tesa! Kaz!"

Natsu, a young man with spiky pink hair and a white, black lined scarf came forward, beaming. His constant companion, Happy, a small winged blue cat sat upon his shoulder.

"Hey, I wanna test a theory with you Tesa, c'mere," said Natsu excitedly

Tesa looked over at him with a perked brow, "A theory?"

"Yup," said Natsu, reaching over and grabbing a blond girl by her wrist as she came forward, "I want you to try Lucy's magic!"

Lucy had joined the Guild not too long ago. Both Tesa and Levy had already bonded with her because of their mutual love for books, and the fact that Lucy was writing a novel. Lucy was a Celestial Wizard, and Tesa had never actually tried to Imprint with anyone of that type of magic. She had to admit she was curious. One thing that came from being able to use other people's magic, Tesa had grown a high interest in trying every magic she could.

"We want to see if you can summon one of my spirits," said Lucy, "And if I can summon another. It could be a really good tactic if we ever fight together!"

"Sounds fun!" said Tesa, stepping forward and reaching out, gripping Lucy's hand, activating her magical prowess.

In an instant, Tesa's hair flared from gray to blond, and her silvery eyes became brown like Lucy's. She felt a strange sensation coming up from her center most being. Lucy stared at her transformation with wide eyes.

"Wow, sorry, it's just so weird that your hair and eyes mimic the mage too," she said.

Tesa shrugged, "I'm assuming my body had to make up for weird gray hair somewhere, right?" she said with a laugh then held out her hand, "Let me see a key."

Lucy took one of her golden keys from her hip, Taurus. Tesa gripped it in her hand, and she felt her mind supply exactly what she had to do.

"Open! Gate of the Golden Bull!" she called, aiming her key at the ground, "Taurus!"

The magic circle bloomed to life, and a large black and white spotted humanoid bull erupted from it, wielding a massive battleaxe and mooing wildly. He looked around, blinking until his spotted Tesa and Lucy standing side by side.

"Whoa! Lucy, baby, there are two of ya now? It must be my birthday!" he crowed, grinning wickedly down at them.

Lucy rolled her eyes, but then smiled at Tesa, "It worked! Alright, let's see…" she held out another key, which thanks to her Imprint, Tesa instantly recognized it as Virgo.

With another summoning cry, a girl with short pink hair and a maid outfit burst forth from the ground, landing elegantly next to Lucy and glancing over at her, "There's someone copying you, princess, should I punish them?" she asked.

"No need," said Lucy, looking between Virgo and Taurus, "Tell me, do you guys follow the same contract with Tesa while she has my abilities?"

Taurus and Virgo both looked toward Tesa with equal frowns of thought.

"I suppose we do," said Taurus, "She summoned me after all."

"And it doesn't seem to be affecting my magic power output having you both out," said Lucy with a curt nod, looking over to Tesa, "Great! If we ever fight together, we know we can use double the spirit power."

Tesa grinned as she handed Lucy back her key and they closed the gates, sending the Celestial Spirits back to their origins, "That'll be a neat trick to pull. And I suppose blond isn't a bad look on me."

That earned a chuckle from Lucy and a small snort of annoyance from Kaz.

"Alright," said Natsu, "Now that that's over, let's fight, Tesa!"

Tesa looked over at him with a new glint in her eyes, "You sure you want to have another fire war, Natsu? We both got sick last time! Why don't you fight Kaz?"

"Kaz never fights me!" Natsu shot a glare over toward Kaz, "He just shoots one of his Elementals out."

"Because fighting you is a waste of time," said Kaz bluntly, walking over to one of the tables and sitting down.

"A waste of time?!" roared Natsu, looking beyond insulted, "That's it, you're fighting me here and now, Kazuyuki! Come on!"

Fire came to life on Natsu's hands as he leapt toward Kaz with a battle cry.

Kaz's silvery eyes flicked over toward the pink haired boy, and then he muttered a single word.

"River."

From the hilt of Kaz's sword appeared a blue magic circle, and from it burst a small body of water, swirling and swiftly forming a humanoid, masculine shape which quickly gained more solid looking pieces about its chest and legs. Within a heartbeat, it resembled a man with blue skin and hair that fell in waves around his shoulders, and lighter blue robes about his torso and legs.

"Why must you fight?" the man said in a sorrowful voice, and unleashed a wave of water at Natsu.

Natsu wailed as he was sent flying across the tavern, flames extinguished. The water sprayed up everywhere, splashing into most everyone inside. Tesa, being so close to Natsu, got most of the splash, and spat out a mouthful of water while wiping her hair out of her face just as it turned back from blond to gray.

"Ah, why?!" she cried.

"Kaz!" spat Cana, looking infuriated from her seat at the bar, "You just flooded the entire hall!"

"Gah, my fur is soaked!" Happy whined, shaking out his fur.

"I believe you should blame Natsu for forcing my hand," said Kaz calmly as he sipped from a cup of tea that Tesa was certain hadn't been there a moment ago.

"It's just so… so sad," the water man, River, mumbled, a look of upmost grief on his face, "Why must he resort to violence for joy?"

River was the embodiment of all of Kaz's grief and sorrow. Part of Tesa always felt a small sense of pain when she saw River, of how sad he always was. It reminded her of the pain in Kaz's eyes when they were young, back before they joined Fairy Tail. It reminded her of a _lot_ of things she didn't care to remember.

Natsu picked himself up off the floor, spitting out water and shaking out his soaked pink hair, "Not fair, Kaz!" he shouted.

"I told you I'm not fighting you," said Kaz evenly, snapping his fingers.

At the snap, River turned back into a body of water and raced back to the hilt of the katana at Kaz's hip, looking as if the water was seeping down into the sheath until it vanished all together.

Tesa nearly laughed at the frustrated look on Natsu's face. He'd never been able to get past any of Kaz's elementals. It really made Tesa realize just how strong of a mage her twin was. She felt like he could be S-Class if he really tried, but every year, even though they had been able to participate in the trials, Kaz always chose to team with Tesa. A small part of her felt like she was holding him back.

"Fine," Natsu grumbled, then looked toward Tesa again, "C'mon Tesa, let's go!"

"No," Kaz said, shooting a slightly hardened look toward them.

"What?" Tesa looked over at him with a frown, "Why not?"

"You need rest."

"I have two cuts!"

"And I'm not allowing fifty burns be added to that."

Tesa rolled her eyes. Kaz was always over protective of her to a fault. But how was she supposed to get better at fighting if she never pushed herself? She turned, fully intending on taking on Natsu's challenge anyway, but then a familiar voice froze her in her tracks.

"Biting off more than you can chew again, eh?"

Tesa's face broke out into a large smile as she turned around when a hand plopped down on her head.

"Hiya Laxus! I didn't know you were back!"

Her grin was one of a giddy child, wide an innocent, a light of excitement in her silvery eyes.

Laxus was over head and shoulders taller than her, bearing a lightning shaped scar over his right eye and spiky blond hair. He wore a fur lined coat and a collared purple shirt, and had strange headphones with spikes sticking out on either side of them upon his head.

"Let me guess, your brother had to save your ass again, am I right, shrimp?" Laxus asked, leaning down to inspect the bandages on her face, hand still gripping her head.

"No," said Tesa, "I had it under control. Sometimes great awesomeness comes from great sacrifice." She pointed at her cuts and winked.

"Right," Laxus pushed her head away roughly, "You need to eventually face the fact that you're useless on your own, twerp. With magic like yours, how would you ever fair off on a one on one fight?"

"I already told you, we can test that with a one on one fight between us," said Tesa, grinning at Laxus.

Laxus snorted, "You couldn't handle my magic, shrimp."

"You don't know that, I haven't tried!" said Tesa.

"And why haven't you?" Laxus asked, folding his arms.

"Because I never use a guildmate's magic without permission," said Tesa, "You know that."

"Yeah, I just wanted to check to see if you've changed your mind from your stupid morals," said Laxus, "Come on, kid, with magic like yours you need to learn to just take what you want."

"That's not how I work," said Tesa, "And it never will be. So I'll wait until you give me permission, Laxus, and then we can spar," she grinned up at him.

Ever since she and Kaz joined Fairy Tail, Tesa had made a pact with herself. She would not deal with deception, in any regard. After what all the lies did to them when they were children, she refused to feed more of that filth into the world. So she never resorted to dirty tricks in fighting, and she never told a single lie.

Laxus rolled his eyes, "Whatever, twerp. One day those stupid ideals of yours will get you killed."

He walked past her, heading up the stairs to the second floor of the Guild Hall, an area reserved only for S-Class Wizards. Tesa smiled after him.

"I still don't see why you look up to that jerk of all people," said Natsu as he came to Tesa's side, a scowl on his face as he looked after Laxus, "He only ever gives you crap."

Truth was, even she wasn't _sure_ why she chose Laxus to be her role model. Most kids her age picked Gildarts to look up to in the Guild, or in her brother's case, Mystogan. Tesa liked and respected Gildarts and Mystogan, but she'd been attached to Laxus from the moment they met when she was little. There was just something in the way he held himself, and in how much confidence he held. Perhaps it was the fact that Laxus never censored himself, therefore falling into her virtue of honesty. He inspired her to become a better mage.

"Well, if I ever manage to impress Laxus, then I'll know I really got something right," said Tesa, with a happy grin.

*.*.*

A week passed. Tesa ended up taking it easy to keep her brother appeased, though she did sneak a single sparring match with Natsu before he, Happy, Gray, Lucy, and Erza left for another mission. Kaz hadn't been happy with her when she came home with a few new burn wounds.

Tesa stretched as she made her way from her bedroom into the kitchen. She and Kaz rented a small home not too far from the Guild Hall. Mouth watering scents of cooking bacon and eggs tickled her nostrils and she beamed at the sight of her brother as she entered the room.

"Wow, you really went all out today, Kaz! Is there a special occasion or what?" she asked with a laugh, sitting herself down on the counter that doubled as a bar that divided the kitchen from the living room.

Kaz was wearing nothing but a pair of black shorts he usually reserved for sleeping in. He glanced at her as he shimmied a pan within which sizzled a pancake.

"You mean you don't remember what day it is?" His tone almost made his words not sound like a question at all. It was always a little difficult to tell what sort of inflection Kaz was trying to convey when he spoke.

Tesa frowned and tilted her head to the side. Then she let out a gasp and felt a beam spread across her face, "Of course! How could I forget?" she laughed, "Ten years ago today, we joined Fairy Tail."

Kaz gave her a curt nod before returning his attention to the pancakes. Tesa smiled lightly at her twin. It was funny, seeing Kaz's way of expressing himself now. Since he was limited in actual expression, he seemed to convey how he felt into his actions. Today, he was in a pleasant mood because it marked the anniversary of when they were saved. So he cooked an extravagant breakfast to show his appreciation. She remembered a time when Natsu actually said something that he found funny, and instead of laughing, he gripped the pink haired boy's shoulder.

"That was amusing," he had said, then handed him an apple, "Here, take this."

Tesa had to wonder if Kaz was ever upset or frustrated with his inability to express himself properly, but she supposed he wouldn't know if he was, since that was an emotion in itself.

"It smells great!" she said, "Hurry up and finish so we can dig in!"

"A thank you would be appreciated," said Kaz flatly, shooting her a slightly annoyed look.

Tesa grinned sheepishly at him, "Oh, thank you almighty cooking skills of Kazuyuki! Can we eat now?"

Kaz let out a soft exhale through his nostrils, which only earned him a laugh from his sister.

They ate in relative silence. Kaz wasn't one to initiate conversation, and the food was too good to pause in consumption. Not to mention, Tesa was fairly certain neither of them wanted to talk about exactly why they celebrated this day so much. It brought back memories of what their life was like before Fairy Tail. The darkest times of their lives.

"We should bring some leftover pancakes to the Guild Hall!" said Tesa excitedly, "Levy will love these."

Kaz glanced at her from the corner of his eyes, but didn't speak until he swallowed his mouth full of food, "You want to give some to Laxus," he stated rather than asked.

Tesa grinned as she picked up her empty place, bringing it over to the kitchen sink to rinse it, "Hey, I'm not allowed to suck up? I swear you look so damned disappointed every time you wake up from one of Mystogan's sleeping spells because you missed him. Don't tell me you wouldn't offer him pancakes if you got the chance."

Kaz looked down at his plate, "Only so as to show my appreciation for the caliber he sets."

Tesa laughed again. She knew one of the main reasons that Kaz looked up to Mystogan so much was because he admired his skills and deep down, wanted to surpass him. She herself had never actually seen Mystogan except for in small glimpses before passing out whenever he came to the Guild Hall to get a new job. But Kaz had spent two full days with Mystogan when he was younger.

"C'mon," said Tesa, piling the uneaten pancakes onto a fresh plate, "Before they get cold!"

"I'm not finished eating."

"So?"

"I'm going to finish eating."

"Well eat faster!"

Kaz cast her a slightly peeved glance before continuing to eat at his normal pace. Tesa rolled her eyes, "Fine, whatever, I'm going, you can catch up!"

"Make sure to offer some to Master Makarov," said Kaz as Tesa hastily ran out the door and into the street.

It was a pleasant day, and Tesa carefully placed the plate atop her head before running down the road, hands out to her sides. Her balance, thanks to years of training, was next to perfect. Because her magic, while seemingly powerful, wasn't exactly ideal, she had to make certain she was skilled in hand-to-hand combat to make up for it. After all, she could only get an Imprint from someone by skin to skin contact, and it only lasted for a short amount of time.

"Hey, Tesa!" a few people called out to her as she ran by, "What's the rush?"

"No time! Pancakes are getting colder by the second!" she replied.

"Where's Kaz?" another yelled.

"Being a slow poke, per usual!" she laughed.

As she rounded the corner down the main street toward the Guild Hall, however, her laughter died in her throat. She stumbled to a halt, the plate toppling off her head and shattering on the ground, sending pancakes every which direction.

The Guild Hall was destroyed. There were massive iron rods slammed into it from every direction, the wooden roof collapsed in. Tesa felt like someone had secured a vice around her chest. The Guild Hall. The place she knew as home for ten long years today... who had done this? She broke into a sprint, heading toward the destruction full pelt.

She saw a few other members of the Guild standing outside of the doors. She recognized Macao and Wakaba among Mira, Levy, Jet, and Droy.

"What happened?" she demanded, coming to a halt beside them.

"It was Phantom Lord," said Mira with a shake of her head, "Thank goodness no one was hurt…"

"Since they attacked in the middle of the night."

Tesa turned to see Loke heading their way. He'd always been considered the lady's man of the Guild, and Tesa wouldn't lie, he was handsome and had quite the body. His short fray orange hair went well with the green, fur lined coat he always wore. Though she always thought his sunglasses were a little odd looking.

"Where's Gramps?" Tesa asked, turning back toward Mira, "Surely there's something we can do about this!"

"The basement is still intact," said Macao, shaking his head with a sigh.

"So he's down there?" Tesa pressed.

"Tesa, I know what you're thinkin', but it ain't no use," said Wakaba, taking a drag from his pipe, "We already tried."

Tesa turned and entered the ruins of the Guild Hall without another word. As she entered the destroyed main hall, she froze up for a moment. Ten years ago, on that very day, she and Kaz had stepped through those doors. Stepped into this room. They'd come from a world of nothing but death and lies. So coming here, to Fairy Tail, where they were accepted instantly, where no one questioned them, where there were other kids, just like them that came from terrible places…

It was like a family. It WAS their family. And this was their family home. So many beautiful memories had been shaped here. And now it was destroyed.

Finding her way downstairs, Tesa found Makarov, a tiny little old man, drinking away. Levy and the rest of Shadow Gear were down here too, looking crestfallen. Tesa also picked out Nab, Max, Warren, Alzack, and Bisca.

"Tesayumi!" Makarov said, waving her over, his cheeks flushed with intoxication, "Come over, come over, do I smell pancakes?"

"Gramps!" Tesa went to him, looking around with a furrowed brow, "While the new decorating is unique and all, why are we just sitting around admiring it?!"

Makarov chuckled and shook his head, "You're just like all the others. I know what Phantom Lord did was outrageous, but it is against the Council's rules to start a war between two Mage Guilds. My hands are tied," he shrugged and drank deeply from his mug again, getting beer on his wild white mustache.

"Not to sound like a little kid, but they started it!" Tesa yelled, "I think we deserve a little payback!"

"I already forbade it, Tesa," said Makarov, his cheerful tone suddenly becoming firm as he set her with a stern gaze, "The Council will deal with this issue."

Tesa balled her fists, "I don't want the Council to deal with it, all they'll do it swat their wrist and say, 'Don't you go doing that again, you little rascals'! You know they don't like Fairy Tail, they'll side with Phantom!"

"Phantom isn't a threat to us," said Makarov calmly, "They attacked the Guild Hall in the middle of the night when it was empty. There's no need to worry about pointless sneak attacks."

"How do you know they'll stop at this?!" Tesa bellowed, "We should-!"

"Tesayumi, that's enough!" Makarov roared, "I told you. We are not attacking another Guild!"

Tesa shook her head, "For one of the ten Wizard Saints, you sure are a push over!" she spat before turning and storming out of the basement.

"Tesa!" she heard Levy cry out to her and saw her blue haired friend following.

"Don't try and stop me, Levy," Tesa said, "I'm going over to Phantom Lord right now and settling the score!"

"You'll do no such thing."

Tesa froze midway across the ruins of the main hall to see Kaz walking toward her. He looked as indifferent as ever. Even bored.

"Kaz, look at what they did!" Tesa gestured around them, "We can't let them get away with this!"

"You heard the Master," said Kaz, closing his eyes, "We cannot start a war with another Guild or else invoke the wrath of the Council."

"I don't care about the stupid Council."

"So what, you're going to tackle an entire Guild on your own?" asked Kaz, his eyes snapping open again.

"Not necessarily. You could let me borrow Flame. I know he'd want in on this action," said Tesa.

"Tesa please," Levy gripped her arm, "Let's just go talk about this."

"Yeah, c'mon, Tesa!" Jet added as he and Droy approached them from the stairs, "Let's go out on the town, that'll take your mind off it!"

Tesa shook Levy off and glared at the ground. She knew they were right, or at least, Kaz was. She couldn't take on an entire Guild on her own, especially with her magic. She'd have to figure something else out.

"Go," said Kaz flatly, "You need to calm yourself. I'll stay and see if I can convince the Master to speak to the Council about getting proper justice."

Tesa looked up and met her twin's gaze and realized then that he was just as upset about this as she was. But he was always the more logical one. He knew they couldn't outright attack Phantom Lord without serious consequences. As much as Tesa wanted to deliver the justice herself, in this case, it wasn't ideal.

"Yeah okay," she sighed.

Levy beamed and grabbed her hand again, "Great! C'mon let's go!"

*.*.*

"I suppose a stomach full of good food and some wine can really calm a person down."

Tesa grinned over at Levy as she, Jet, and Droy made their way back toward the Guild Hall later that night.

"Hey, just stop worrying so much, Tesa," laughed Jet as he flicked her gray pony tail, "I know the Master seems like he's being lax, but you saw how much he was drinking. He's pissed! I know he'll make sure that Phantom gets there's."

"No more talking about Phantom Lord!" said Levy, then grinned over at Tesa, "Let's talk about positive things! Tesa, you started working on your drawings again, right?"

Tesa rubbed the back of her neck, "Well, I'm still leagues behind Reedus, but yeah, some sketches here and there."

"You have to let me see them, okay?" Levy beamed.

Tesa laughed, "No way! Not until they're at least somewhat presenta- uh oh…" she suddenly frowned, patting her gi pockets.

The group paused.

"What's up?" Droy asked.

"My wallet," sighed Tesa, "I must have left it back at the bar. I'll meet you guys at the Guild Hall!"

"Do you want one of us to come with you?" Jet asked, "With Phantom attacking out Guild Hall, it might be smart to stay in groups, you know."

Tesa waved him off, "Psh, well, according to Gramps, Phantom won't start any actual shit with us. I'm sure I'll be fine."

Before they could argue, she reached out and gripped Jet's arm, the palm of her hand pressed to the flesh of his forearm. She'd received permission from him ages ago to Imprint, and Jet's speed, as his name would suggest was speed based. This would make her trip back to the restaurant a blink of an eye.

"Bet I beat you guys to the Guild Hall!" she teased as her hair turned dirty blond and she turned, pelting out of sight.

Luckily enough, her wallet was still on her seat at the restaurant. She thanked the waiter for not letting it disappear and went to make her way back to what was left of the Guild Hall. As she began to run down the street, her hair suddenly reverted to gray, her eyes to silver. She let out a small huff of irritation. Seemed alcohol made her powers a little more limited… Looked like she wasn't going to beat Shadow Gear to the Guild Hall after all.

She cut through the alleyway again, slowing her pace slightly. While being out with Levy and the others had been fun, she was still furious. Why wasn't Makarov taking this seriously? So what if Phantom attacked when the Guild Hall was empty, they still disrespected them! Attacking in the middle of the night… it was cowardly. Deceptive. The one thing she hated most.

Worse anniversary day ever…

"Well, well."

Tesa paused at the voice, and looked over just in time to see a figure leap down from one of the rooftops, landing right in front of her. She couldn't help but take a step back out of reflex. He was head and shoulders taller than her, though he looked to be only a few years older than herself. He bore a long mane of black hair swept back off of his forehead, leaving his pieced brows, nose, and ears in plain view. His eyes were red, and he wore a sleeveless coat of sorts with a strange, black feathery plume on one shoulder. His feet were incased in heavy looking dark boots with metal studs along them, baggy tan pants tucked into where they ended near his knees. His fists clenched in fingerless leather gloves, more metal adorning their knuckles. There were even more piercings on his forearms.

"A little fairy far from home?" the young man laughed, placing his hands on his hips and tilting his head as he looked down at her, "Don't you know it's dangerous to wander alone at night, shrimp?"

Tesa narrowed her eyes, "Listen up, Studs, only one guy is allowed to call me shrimp. And as much as those piercings flatter that face of yours, I'm not in the mood to flirt," she went to go around him.

His arm suddenly shifted, turning into an iron rod and smashed into the wall, blocking her path. Tesa stared at it, her heart beginning to accelerate.

"It was you," she breathed, looking back at him.

He gave her a wicked grin, teeth and all, revealing his canines were a little longer than normal, almost fangs, "You catch on quick, shrimp."

Tesa felt anger flood her and she swung a punch toward his face. She didn't know why she didn't try to get an Imprint off him first. Her mind was clouded by intoxication and fury. He caught her gloved wrist with his other hand, his grip like steel.

"Who are you?" Tesa demanded, feeling her eyes widen.

"Gajeel Redfox," said the man, still with that wolfish grin, "A name I'll make sure you'll never forget."

*.*.*

Kazuyuki didn't feel emotions like he used to. They were still there, still existed, but they were muted in a way. Expressing them was so difficult, that he found it fathomable that he was ever able to show how he felt at all. But when night fell and Levy and the others returned without Tesayumi, he felt the familiar sense of worry. When the night drug on and on without his sister's arrival, the worry started to bloom into panic.

"Something isn't right," he eventually muttered, getting to his feet, "Tesayumi should have been back by now…"

He'd spent most of the day discussing with Master Makarov about what to do with Phantom Lord. Makarov felt that all they had to deal with when it came to Phantom was vandalism. He didn't believe they would go further than that. And a Guild war was out of the question. It could lead to Fairy Tail being disbanded.

"I'll help you look," Jet offered, Droy nodding beside him.

"She could be fine," said Levy, though she sounded uncertain, "She might even be off somewhere sketching… you know how she can get when she's upset."

"All the same, it would be better to search," said Macao, "With Phantom Lord acting like they are…"

"I wish Natsu was still here so we could use his nose," added Droy.

Natsu and his team had returned earlier that day, and he'd had been just as upset about the Guild Hall's condition as Tesa, if not more.

"He, Gray, and Erza are at Lucy's apartment," said Levy.

"I figured it would be better for all of us to stay in numbers," said Mira, shooting the members of Shadow Gear a dark look.

"Hey, we tried to stop her!" said Jet, "But she Imprinted off me and off she went! I tried running to the restaurant but she had already gotten her wallet and left!"

"Well, we know she actually got her wallet, so maybe she is fine," said Droy.

Kazuyuki was already heading upstairs. He wouldn't be satisfied with a 'maybe' when it came to Tesayumi's safety.

Shadow Gear went with him, and they searched for a good part of the night still with no sign of Tesayumi. Levy ran out of energy first, passing out on one of the benches when they were searching the park. Droy took her home with the intent of retiring himself. Jet lasted a little longer, but soon he too was out of magical energy and was too tired to keep on. Promising to help first thing in the morning, he left for home.

Kazuyuki eventually headed home, realizing he was going to need some sleep as well. Tesayumi had disappeared for nights at a time before. She had this whole 'honesty' code, but apparently that never included informing Kazuyuki when she was going out and for how long. He knew that she just needed alone time during those nights. But if that's what it was this time, she picked a very poor time not to tell him about it.

Morning came and Kazuyuki slowly made his way out of his home, eyes blurry from exhaustion, body stiff from pent up stress. Yes, his emotions were muted, but that didn't mean they couldn't build up.

The first thing he noticed was all the ruckus. People were running and yelling through the street, looking panicked and horrified. Kazuyuki paused, watching with a furrowed brow until he spotted a familiar face.

"Erza."

He'd always gotten along well with Erza. She was in her armor, as usual today, the plated blue skirt adding just a bit of feminine quality to the ensemble. She turned at his voice, long red hair flipping in the motion. She had a grave look on her face, something that made Kazuyuki feel a prickle of unease.

"Kazuyuki," she was one of the few members of Fairy Tail that used his full name, "You better come with me. The things they're saying…"

Kazuyuki was instantly at her side, and the two of them made their way toward the Guild Hall, heading toward the right side of the ruined structure. This had something to do with his sister. He just knew it.

An open field stretched out over before them, home to a single large tree, one that Kazuyuki knew Tesayumi liked to climb up into an sketch in. Kazuyuki looked toward that tree now, and he felt his stomach's contents be replaced with lead.

There was a figure pinned up on the tree by large iron brackets. A limp body with a head of gray hair and wearing a tattered black gi.

"Tesayumi!" Kazuyuki cried, sprinting forward.

He stumbled to a halt beneath his sister's limp form, staring up at her with horror. She was completely covered in wounds, bruises all over her body, bleeding cuts slashed across her flesh. Her clothes had been ripped away at her midsection, and painted on her abdomen with purple paint was a strange symbol of an eye. A symbol Kazuyuki recognized as the insignia for the Magic Guild, Phantom Lord.

"Tesa!" Levy gasped, coming to Kazuyuki's side, gaping up at Tesayumi's dangling form, "Oh… no, no…! If I had known…! What happened to her?!"

Kazuyuki wasted no time in unsheathing his katana and jumping up into the air, slashing out at the iron brackets holding his sister to the tree. The blade cut through the metal easily, and he sheathed it just in time to catch Tesayumi in his arms gently as he landed back in the grass. Tesayumi's face twisted up in pain and she gasped, her silver eyes opening slightly.

"Tesa…" Kazuyuki breathed, gazing down at her.

"Gh… Kaz…" he could see the devastation in her eyes as she looked up at him, "I… I'm… I'm sorry…" she managed to rasp, and then her head fell to the side, falling unconscious again.

"What's happened?"

The new voice came from behind Kazuyuki. He turned around, his twin still protectively in his arms as he faced Makarov, his Guild Master. The short little old man gaped at him, a fury beginning to bathe his eyes.

"Tesayumi…?" Makarov breathed, "Who did this?"

Kazuyuki met his Master's eyes, "Phantom Lord," he said in a cold voice.

Makarov's face fell into one of pure fury.

"Destroying our shoddy bar I could bear… But a parent cannot remain voiceless upon seeing the blood of his children…" he growled, then he whirled to face the others, where Kazuyuki saw nearly all of the Guild, even Natsu and his team were back, gaping with shock and anger, "Fairy Tail! This is WAR!"

_**AUTHOR'S NOTE::: **_

_**Okay, okay, okay, bear with me everyone. I am attempted a new writing practice tactic thing… and I swear, I SWEAR this'll be the last rewrite, I PROMISE ON VEGETA PRINCE OF ALL SAIYANS OKAY. I needed to redo a few things, mainly regarding Tesa's character, (which is the main thing I am practicing on) and getting some things in the time line right, like, the Guild Hall was destroyed before Gajeel attacked anyone.**_

_**So the thing I'm practicing is character traits, like taking a character trait tree thing and implementing it the best I can. So for Tesa, I'm using the Adventurer. (I think you can find this thing online if you wanna look.) I'm basically practicing how to always keep my characters IN CHARACTER based on their traits. So yeah.**_

_**In any case, thank you for sticking with me on this… I have a LOT of the rest of the story already planned out and mapped in my head, rather than just writing by the seat of my pants which I usually do for my fanfictions haha… **_

_**Thanks as always for the reads, the reviews, the follows and the favs! **_

_**-Red**_


	2. The Flame of Kazuyuki

_**AUTHOR'S NOTE:::**_

_**Please note that Chapter One was rewritten as of 5/1/15. (Only made scenes match canon more and redefined Tesa's character. I swear, last rewrite! … plz don't kills me Q.Q)**_

Natsu followed after Kazuyuki toward the Guild Hall. Watching him carry Tesayumi flooded him with a rage unlike any other. He had been furious enough when he saw the Guild Hall destroyed upon returning from his mission with Happy, Erza, Lucy, and Gray. Seeing it smashed in with huge pillars made of iron. Destroying the place he'd considered home since he was a child was one thing. But hurting one of their own?

Gramps was right. This was war.

Natsu reached Kaz's side and looked down at Tesa's bloodied face. He had known the twins since he was a kid. They joined Fairy Tail not long after he did. Tesa always had a mild manner, happier sitting back and reading rather than fighting and training. In truth, Natsu challenged her to fight in hopes to get her to get better at combat. He knew she was kind hearted, and that was fine, admirable even. But Tesa took it to a new level. She didn't push herself to her fullest simply because she wanted a world without all the fighting and violence.

Now it seemed that way of thinking had finally caught up to her.

Natsu glanced at Kaz's face. The male Akiyama twin had always confused him. Natsu understood that his Elementals were what held his emotion, but he never got quite used to how cold Kaz acted. This was the most emotion that Natsu had ever seen him portray.

Kaz carefully went down the stairs to the basement where the Guild had taken refuge while they tried to figure out what to do about repairs. Several Guild members swarmed around, some yelling about getting back at Phantom Lord, others quickly making up an adequate resting spot for Tesa.

"We cannot stand for this," said Erza, pushing some of her long red hair from her face, "Master. This cannot go unpunished!"

"It's all my fault!" Levy cried out, her eyes tearing up, "I should have gone back with her to the restaurant!"

"And what, get beaten senseless with her? Tesa isn't a weak mage, someone powerful did this. It's not your fault," snapped Gray, the dark haired boy once again missing his shirt but no one seemed to be worried about it at the moment, "It's Phantom Lord's. They have to pay!"

"What's all the yelling for?"

Natsu turned to see Laxus approaching. He came to an abrupt halt, staring down at Tesa's form, his eyes wide. Natsu didn't think he had ever seen Laxus look like that- in such shock.

"What happened?" he demanded, looking over at Kaz.

"Look at her stomach, you can see what happened!" Natsu shouted as Kaz gently laid Tesa down on a cot.

"How did she let this happen to herself…?" Laxus breathed, almost to himself.

"Whoever it was, surely they used foul play," said Gray, "This is Tesa we're talking about."

Laxus shook his head and sighed, "Stupid kid. Did she run off and try to take them on by herself?"

"No," Levy stepped forward, "Tesa was mad, but she knew she couldn't take on a Guild by herself... She had to have been ambushed."

"So her guard was down, as usual," Laxus folded his arms, "Idiot. Her stupid morals are what screwed her over, I'm sure. Well, she's alive. Maybe this will teach her a lesson."

He turned and began to walk away.

"What, that's it?" Natsu bellowed, feeling anger boil up inside him.

Laxus glanced back at him, "What?"

"She looks up to you!" shouted Natsu, "She does everything she can to get your approval, to make you proud! And you're not going to retaliate to this?!"

"That's enough, Natsu."

Kaz's voice was soft, and his eyes never left Tesa's. Natsu looked over at him, brow furrowed.

"You know it's true! The least he can do is actually help us get back at Phantom Lord!" Natsu yelled.

Laxus narrowed his eyes, "Look, kid, that shrimp gets herself into trouble all the time. Maybe this time, she'll learn something and stop being so damn naïve. You all can do whatever you want. I have better things to do," he headed up the stairs, leaving Natsu to tremble head to toe in rage.

"It doesn't matter," said Kaz evenly.

Natsu whirled to face him, face still screwed up in anger, "Doesn't matter?! After everything Tesa does for him, he's just going to waltz out of here?! That bastard could help us in the fight!"

Kaz finally looked away from his sister, his silvery eyes locking onto Natsu's.

"We won't need his help."

*.*.*

Gajeel took tossed another handful of metal bolts into his mouth as he leaned onto the table with his elbow. He kept glancing toward the main doors of the Phantom Lord Guild Hall, red eyes expectant. He was certain that those Fairy fucks would come bursting in any second after the gift he left them. A grin teased his lips when he remembered how easy it have been to defeat that girl with gray hair. Sure, she'd shown some skill in hand-to-hand combat, but in the long run she was no match. The only thing that confused him was that she hadn't used any magic on him to defend herself.

"Hey Gajeel!"

One of his Guildmates approached with a wide smile on his face. Gajeel's gaze flicked over to him as he crunched his teeth down onto some more bolts.

"Heard you took down one of the Akiyama twins from Fairy Tail! Nice job," he said with a laugh.

Gajeel didn't even remember this punk's name. Frann? Roz? Something like that? Either way, it didn't matter. Gajeel didn't need someone's name before he punched the shit out of them.

As his arm turned into an iron rod and sent the man flying across the hall, he growled, "I told you not to bother me while I'm eating!"

Another Guildmate across the table from him chuckled and leaned forward.

"It is impressive, Gajeel, you haven't heard of team Twin Heart of Fairy Tail?" he asked.

"No, and I don't give a fuck," Gajeel said as he popped another bolt into his maw.

"Well, I suppose you did catch one by themselves, so that probably gave you an advantage," the guy across the table said with a shrug.

Gajeel's eyes snapped back to him. He didn't remember this guy's name either. Everyone in the whole fucking Guild knew him at a glance as Gajeel Black Steel. He was the strongest mage in this Guild besides the Master. And yet despite everyone knowing his name and everyone understanding his reputation, they still liked to test him.

WAM!

With another solid punch, Gajeel sent the man across the table flying. He retracted his arm, letting it revert to its normal form and scoffing.

"I said to stop talking to me while I eat," he growled, "And I don't need no fucking advantage to beat up one puny Fairy."

There was a crashing sound in the distance. Gajeel looked around and at the door, his mouth stretching into a shark-like grin.

"Well it's about time," he breathed, getting up from the table before leaping upwards into the rafters of the room.

As soon as he landed on one of the beams, there was a mighty explosion at the entrance. Fire, word, and stone alike burst in, sending several of the Guild members flying. The smoke cleared, revealing a large group of mages led by a tiny little old man. That had to be Fairy Tail's Guild Master, Makarov. He was one of the Ten Wizard Saints, Gajeel knew that. He'd steer clear of him until Aria dealt with him.

With wild war cries, the Fairy Tail mages swarmed into the Guild Hall. The members of Phantom Lord met them with gusto, and lights and sounds alike began to erupt all over. Makarov became a hulking giant within an instant and flattened ten of their members at once. Gajeel raised his brows. The stories about him weren't fucking around, it seemed. He didn't know exactly what that little old geezer's magic was called, but he certainly didn't want anything to do with it. He waited up in the rafters until he saw Makarov carve his way to the stairs and head up to the second floor, no doubt looking for Master Jose.

Gajeel set his eyes back on the fight below. Good. Now that he was out of the way, it was time to have some fun. He narrowed his eyes as he spotted one of the Fairies was plowing through their men like butter. He had spiky pink hair, and was slinging around fire like he was some sort of inferno himself.

"Salamander…" Gajeel breathed.

The Fire Dragon Slayer. He's heard plenty about him. It was clear all the amateurs down there wouldn't be enough to keep him back. They had to let this little skirmish last long enough for Juvia to get the girl. Gajeel grinned again. He wouldn't mind stepping in and showing this brat what a real Dragon Slayer was capable of.

Slipping off the rafters, Gajeel landed on the table he'd previously been eating at, incidentally the only one that hadn't been totally destroyed yet. The Salamander was not but ten feet away. Gajeel balled a hand into a fist and shot it out toward him, letting his arm morph into an iron rod. The Fire Dragon Slayer saw it coming, however. He dodged backwards and landed in a crouch, head snapping around to spot Gajeel.

"So it was you!" he snarled.

Gajeel grinned at him, "So glad my hard work didn't go unnoticed!"

Fire ignited in the pink haired boy's hands, and Gajeel could see his muscles bunching up to leap. Gajeel brought up his guard, bending at the knees slightly, prepared for any onslaught the kid could produce. However before Salamander could move, a new voice spoke.

"Natsu."

The Fire Dragon Slayer looked over and Gajeel followed his gaze.

For a split second he was confused. What looked like the girl he'd left on the tree was walking toward him. Same silver eyes. Same gray hair tied up in a ponytail. But after a moment Gajeel could tell this individual was a male. Instead of the black, sleeveless gi the girl had worn, he wore flowing white samurai robes, and there was a katana sheathed at his hip. The way he approached was slightly unnerving. He walked calmly despite the chaos all around them, silver eyes set onto Gajeel with what at first seemed like an expressionless glare, but Gajeel soon picked up the subtle traces of cold fury there.

"This is my responsibility," he said evenly, coming to a pause at Natsu's side.

"Kaz, let me help!" Natsu argued, "Him hurting Tesa pissed me off just as much as you!"

"Natsu," the young man called Kaz said, a slight snap in his otherwise flat tone, "I told you, this is my responsibility."

"Ah, so this is what people were tellin' me about with the Twin Heart team in Fairy Tail," said Gajeel, folding his arms and smirking toward Kaz, "Thought you were that girl for a second. But with how I left her, there's no way she'd be walking in here."

Kaz's eye's suddenly lost their listless, lidded state. They widened, his brows curving in, his face twisting in sudden and explosive fury. He gripped the hilt of his katana.

"Flame."

A magic circle that glowed a vivid orange manifested at the hilt of the blade, and from it spewed a large plume of fire. It whirled in on itself like a tornado, and slowly gained more physical form. Within about three seconds, it fully created itself into a male being with deep red skin with crags along it like breaks in a floor of magma, revealing more fire beneath. It wore long, billowing pants which hems were made of flame, and its face consisted of what seemed more like eye shaped windows peeking into the brilliant inferno inside, and a snarling mouth with a tongue of flame. For hair it instead bore a large plume of fire that licked hungrily at the air above it. Its hands were clawed and flame tipped at the fingers, its feel bare with yet more fire spewing out from beneath.

"Summoning magic, huh? But not Celestial. Interesting," Gajeel crouched at the ready, "Well, if you think that thing is going to protect you, you're dead wrong, little Fairy. I know how summoning magic works. I'm taking you out first."

"This isn't summoning magic," said Kaz. He seemed somewhat more calm since manifesting the flaming being at his side, "This is Fusion Magic."

With that, Kaz reached out, and gripped the flame creature's shoulder.

"Flame," he said softly, seemingly completely unaffected by the raging fire around his hand, "Consume."

*.*.*

When Tesa finally regained consciousness, she did not recognize where she was at first. Steadily, her memories trickled back to her. She was in the basement of the Guild Hall... but why? Then an image flashed in her mind, of all those iron rods slammed into the building she'd called home for ten years… and then another picture, one of a man with piercings all along his face, ears, and arms…

_ I lost… _

The thought was a bitter one, and she felt her heart sink. Lucy was nearby, getting a rag damp in a bucket of water, and turned to face her only to jump a little when their eyes met.

"Oh, you're awake," she smiled lightly, "Good. How do you feel?"

Tesa looked back up at the ceiling and took stock on her body. It was still aching in pain, but not as harsh as before, the edge was gone, but she was certainly in no shape to be up and walking yet.

"Shit," she rasped, clenching her fists, "I… I wasn't strong enough! Damn it," she began to sit up but winced and let out a short cry of pain.

"Easy," Lucy placed the rag on her forehead, "I just changed your bandages, and I washed off that mark on your stomach. Don't worry, I made sure the boys stayed out."

Tesa clenched her jaw, feeling anger start to boil up inside her gut. "Gajeel…"

"Huh?" Lucy blinked at her.

"Gajeel… Redfox… he's an Iron Dragon Slayer," Tesa said, still glaring up at the ceiling, "He's the bastard that did this…"

"Erza mentioned him," said Lucy, laying her hand gently on Tesa's arm, "I promise, he's going to get proper punishment for what he did. The others will see to it."

"The others?" Tesa blinked over at her.

Lucy nodded, "Just about everyone is storming Phantom Lord's Guild Hall right now. When Master Makarov saw you, he declared war. I'm pretty sure Kaz was on the front lines."

"No!" Tesa sat up, making her entire body scream at her, but she didn't care, still trying to get out of bed while clutching at her middle, the wet rag on her forehead sliding off, "That idiot- what does he think- Augh!"

"Tesa, please, you can't move yet!" Lucy begged, placing her hands on her shoulders, "There's nothing you can do now, I'm sure he'll be fine! He's a strong mage, and the Master is there!"

Tesa stopped, clutching her center and leaning on Lucy's shoulders.

"If anything happens to him, it'll be my fault," she said, her voice small.

"No," said Lucy, and to Tesa's surprise, she wrapped her arms around her.

Tesa blinked in surprise. Sure, she'd become fast friends with Lucy, but she somehow didn't expect some kind of embrace like this.

"It was his choice, Tesa. He cares so much for you, he wanted to help get back at the ones who hurt you. He's your brother, what do you expect? Of course he'll fight for you, all of us would!"

Tesa felt warmth sting her eyes. But she held back the tears. She hadn't cried once since joining Fairy Tail, she wasn't going to start now. Lucy released her and gently pushed her back in the bed, smiling.

"Please, the best you can do for him now, for all of us, is to get better," she said.

Tesa nodded slowly as she laid back into the cot. Then a sudden though occurred to her.

"Where's Laxus?" she asked.

Lucy's face changed slightly, her smile fading away and her eyes darting away, "Uh…"

"What?" Tesa frowned.

Lucy sighed, "He… he saw when we brought you in. And he was angry. But… he was more angry at you. He… he said that you get yourself into these situations a lot. He didn't go with the others to Phantom Lord's, but he left. I don't know where."

Tesa let her head fall back onto the pillow, feeling like lead had just been dropped into her stomach. Laxus thought this was her fault? He still just thought she was just some kid, getting herself into trouble all the time… She didn't understand. What would it take for her to live up to his expectations?

Tesa remembered the first time she'd met Laxus, how excited she'd been to see his strength and confidence.

She'd been in the Guild Hall with Kaz a few weeks after they'd joined the Guild when Laxus returned from a mission. Tesa remembered staring at him, he being the first Fairy Tail mage she had yet to meet. She was curious. Who was he? Why hadn't he been here?

Laxus had spotted her staring and frowned at her.

"What are you lookin' at, shrimp?"

Tesa blinked in surprise at his harsh remark, but she'd already made a pact to avoid deception, and that included lies.

"I'm looking at you."

Laxus seemed a little startled by her blunt response and headed over toward her, "Gramps is just takin' in kids left and right, huh? Can you even use magic?"

"Sure I can," Tesa gave him a grin, "It's called Imprint Magic. I can use other mage's magic for a short time."

Laxus' brow furrowed, "How the hell does that work?"

Levi was in the room at the time, sitting at the same table with her and Kaz. Tesa looked over at her.

"Levi, can I borrow your magic?"

"Uh, sure," she extended her hand out toward her.

Tesa took it, and her hair shifted from gray to blue, and her eyes from silver to amber. She then held out her hands and called out, "Wind!"

The word "WIND" appeared before her in large, swirling white letters, and then they vanished as a harsh breeze swept up throughout the entire Guild Hall. Tesa beamed at the astonished look on Laxus' face.

"Pretty cool, huh?" she said.

His eyes found hers again and he frowned at her, "You can do that with any mage?" he asked.

Tesa nodded.

"What about Gramps?" he thumbed over toward where Makarov was sitting on the bar drinking and laughing with Natsu and Erza.

"Oh, Master Makarov won't give me permission to use his magic," said Tesa.

"So?" scoffed Laxus, "With magic like that, you gotta take what you want!"

"I can't do that," said Tesa with a frown, "That's wrong."

"Who says it's wrong?"

"It's deceptive. And deception is wrong."

"So when you're fighting an enemy mage, you're just gonna ask them for permission before taking their magic?" Laxus asked with a laugh.

"No," said Tesa, "That's different. They aren't my comrades."

"How is that not deceptive?"

"They're already my enemy, they should expect me to fight against them with whatever means necessary."

Laxus furrowed his brow again and tilted his head at her.

"Shrimp, you make hardly any sense, you know that, right?"

"My name is Tesa," she had responded, giving him another grin.

"Nah, I like shrimp better," Laxus laughed again, "But hey, maybe one day, you'll be good enough for me to call you by your name," he gave her an actual smile that time, and retreated up the stairs.

Tesa had not seen that smile since. But she was determined to get it again. Determined for him to call her by her name one day.

And all she had done this time was gain his disapproval.

It made getting beaten by Gajeel feel so much worse.

"Hey, I understand, Natsu said you really look up to him," said Lucy softly, "I think he's just dealing with this in his own way. I think seeing you like this really hurt him, I could see it in his eyes. So don't worry," she smiled, "I know he cares about you. He just is wishing it never happened instead of dealing with it like everyone else."

"I wish I could believe your words," rasped Tesa, "It… it doesn't matter right now. Thank you… Lucy," she smiled weakly up at her.

Lucy grinned back, "You're welcome. We're both in Fairy Tail right? That makes us family."

"Yeah, of course it does," Tesa gripped her hand before laying her head back again.

Lucy patted her shoulder and then got to her feet, "I'm going into town to get some more bandages, okay? Just please stay in bed. The others should be back soon."

Tesa nodded, "I wouldn't get far like this anyway," she laughed a little.

Lucy gave her another smile then headed up the stairs.

Tesa looked up at the ceiling, frowning. She felt knots twisting in her stomach. More than anything did she want to be part of that battle against Phantom Lord. She was worried about Kaz, but Lucy was right, Kaz was an amazing mage, stronger than her in any case. She felt her hands knotting the sheets around her. Laxus still thought she was just a kid, and she had let herself be beaten, let herself be the reason for this Guild war.

But if she hadn't been there, Gajeel might have just done what he did to her to Levy, Droy, and Jet instead. It wouldn't have changed Makarov's decision. She decided it was worth it. She would take the pain of her guildmates any time. Because like Lucy said, they were family.

She just hoped that she would get her chance at personal revenge against Gajeel.

*.*.*

The Fusion process was always something Kazuyuki hated. He'd grown used to having his emotions detached and faded. He knew how to function that way. But when he Fused with one of his Elementals, it wasn't like he got all his emotions back at once. He felt like he'd know how to deal with that, he'd had them all at one time before when he was a child. Instead, he only gained back the completely unfiltered emotion of the Elemental he was Fusing with.

And Flame was the embodiment of all his anger and rage.

The fire itself didn't burn his skin. But he felt the insanity of the boiling heat pump through his veins as Flame's form started to morph in with his own from where he gripped his shoulder. Kaz had felt a small spike of his bottled rage come out before, which made him know that feeling all of it unfiltered was going to be intense. As the inferno engulfed him, he felt his muscles tighten, his teeth clench, his veins throb on his forehead.

Gajeel Black Steel. Gajeel Redfox. The Iron Dragon Slayer.

The one who hurt his sister.

He was going to end him.

When the fire finally faded, Kazuyuki reappeared. His white samurai robes were now replaced with nothing but kimono bottoms, his torso and feet bare. His hair was now a fiery red, and the ponytail was far more wild as if the tie was barely able to contain it. His eyes were a glistening orange, and his face set in rage.

Gajeel blinked at him, studded brows furrowed.

"Fusion Magic, huh? Well as fancy as it is, it won't save your ass," he said after a moment, his grin returning.

"Kaz, let me help!" said Natsu.

"You stay out of this, Natsu," Kazuyuki barked, then his orange eyes locked onto Gajeel, "He's MINE!"

Even to him, hearing his normally so monotone voice snap out like that and get so loud unnerved a part of him. But he wasn't going to let himself get distracted now. With a bellowing war cry and fire igniting in his hands, he leapt at Gajeel.

Gajeel's arm shifted into steel once again, and Kazuyuki felt his fist collide with the unyielding material. His eyes narrowed to slits and he twisted his body around throwing himself into a kick toward Gajeel's head. The Dragon Slayer ducked, leaving Kazuyuki to land in a crouch just beyond him. Gajeel swung his iron arm toward him, but Kazuyuki swiftly rolled out of range before leaping forward again, a wild yowl of rage upon his lips.

He wasn't letting Gajeel get away.

He was going to kill this bastard.

*.*.*

Tesa fell asleep at some point. In her dreams, she kept seeing Kaz alone in the Phantom Lord Guild Hall, which her mind thought looked like some giant demonic castle since she had never seen it herself. She kept seeing Kaz walk into the building, katana unsheathed, what little fury he could hold on his face now plastered there for all to see. And then Gajeel. Gajeel with his shark grin. Gajeel downing her brother in one punch, then crouching over him with a sneer.

"You're pretty far from home, fairy."

She woke with a scream, sitting bolt upright in bed. Her sudden movement made her flinch and wrap her arms around herself. With a tight gasp of pain, she fell back into the pillows.

"Tesa?"

Tesa looked over to see Loke. Though he was renowned for being the ladies man around Fairy Tail, he didn't try to bug Tesa, not since Kaz had sent Flame after him for one pickup line.

"Are you okay?" he asked, his brow furrowed a little.

"The pain isn't going to kill me," Tesa sighed, "Is everyone back?"

"No, I didn't go with," said Loke, "Some of us stayed behind to keep an eye on you, not just Lucy. Speaking of, where is she? I thought she'd be down here," he lifted up a set of Celestial Spirit Gate Keys, "I found her keys in town, I figured she dropped them."

Tesa shook her head, "She left to go into town to get more bandages but…" she glanced around, "I don't see any bags or anything… Maybe she's still out?"

Loke frowned at the keys, his eyes growing worried, "I can't imagine her leaving her keys for long without knowing they were gone…"

"Hang on, don't Celestial wizards scare you or something?" asked Tesa, "I thought you didn't like Lucy."

"It isn't that!" said Loke, looking back at her, "I just… listen, I've got a bad feeling about this…"

Tesa frowned at him, "Alright, well then," she sat up again, this time more slowly so as to be kind to her busted ribs, "Let's go looking for her."

"You can't go anywhere, look at you," said Loke, gesturing to her, "I'll go. You stay here. If she comes back tell her that her keys are safe, okay?"

Tesa sighed, "I hate sitting here. The others are fighting Phantom Lord and now this… I feel useless!" she glared at the ground.

"Hey, it's not your fault," said Loke firmly as he turned, "I'll be back soon. And don't worry, alright?" he gave her a small smile, then headed up the stairs.

Tesa groaned as she slid her legs off the bed, gingerly getting to her feet. She held onto the wall for support, another arm wrapped about her middle. So she could stand… now walking, that was another story. She shakily took a step. Pain shot up her body like a bolt of lightning, but she shut it out, gritting her teeth. She refused to let everyone else fight her battles.

She remembered her nightmare about Kaz.

Tesa took another step, gasping sharply, but refusing to stop.

Laxus still considered her just a kid. He thought she was useless.

Another step.

All of the Guild, all out there fighting just because she wasn't strong enough to defend herself.

One more step.

Agony splintered Tesa's entire body. She lost her grip on the wall and fell forward, landing on the ground with a cry of agony, panting heavily. She tried to push herself up on all fours, but her body's strength was sapped, and she collapsed again.

"Damn it…" she rasped just before her world faded away again.

*.*.*

Gajeel had to admit. This guy was good.

He dodged around as wild plumes of fire was spewed at him from all directions. It was difficult keeping up with Kaz purely because of how he threw attack after attack after attack. The rage behind the blows was evident, and Gajeel was starting to think he was going to have to get a lot more serious.

But that was when the floor above suddenly caved in.

Gajeel and Kaz leapt apart just in time to avoid a small body landing atop them. Gajeel blinked when he saw who it was.

The old man. Makarov.

He laid on his front, body trembling, his skin turning greener by the second.

"Tch," Gajeel folded his arms, "Looks like Aria got to him. Too bad, I was having fun."

He looked over to see Kaz had redirected his attention. He stared at the small body before him, eyes wide.

"Master!"

A girl with long red hair and armor rushed forward. Gajeel recognized her as Erza Scarlet. She was one of Fairy Tail's S Class wizards.

"What's happened?" Erza cried.

"M-my magic…" Makarov rasped, "I can't… feel.. my…"

"I can't sense the Master's magic!" someone cried.

"Who could have done this to him?!"

"Our fighting strength's just been cut in half!"

"No…" Erza breathed then got to her feet and looked back at her guildmates, "Retreat!"

"What?!" a boy with spiky black hair and no shirt bellowed, "Erza, we can't just-!"

"Without the Master we've already lost!" Erza bellowed.

"I won't leave!" Kaz shouted, eyes set on Gajeel again, "Not without his fucking head!"

"Kazuyuki, even Fused, you can't hope to beat an entire Guild!" said Erza, "Think about Tesayumi! She'd be devastated!"

"I can't just let him-!" Kaz began.

"We aren't letting him get away with it," snapped Erza, "We're just waiting for another time! Kazuyuki, don't be stupid!"

Kaz glared at her, then at Gajeel. Gajeel gave him a smirk.

"Go on. Run home to your sister. Tell her I said 'hi'," he said.

Kaz's muscles bunched up, but Natsu grabbed his arm.

"I don't want to let him get away either, Kaz," he said, "But we have to get Gramps out of here!"

Kaz seemed to calm slightly, and then his entire body suddenly burst into the flames. Natsu stood back with a startled yell. The fire then swirled into its own mass, leaving Kaz behind. He looked like he did when he'd first arrived, white samurai robes, katana at his hip. The fire seeped into the sheath of his sword, disappearing within a blink of an eye. Kaz took a breath before setting his much calmer, lidded glare on Gajeel.

"I'll be back for your life."

Gajeel was a little unnerved with how calmly he said the words. As if it were an everyday phrase to speak. But he didn't let his grin falter.

"I look forward to it."

*.*.*

"Tes… Tesa…!"

The voice drifted toward her through waves of blackness. Tesa steadily became more aware of increasing discomfort all around her. The pain… the pain from her wounds… wounds she got from…

"Tesa, c'mon wake up!"

"Don't touch her."

A different voice… A voice she felt a sharp connection to.

"I'm just trying to get her to open her eyes!"

"Gray. I said don't touch her."

Tesa felt hands leave her. Then, a pair of arms delicately laced beneath her. She was lifted up, and though the movement was as gentle as can be, it still drew a gasp of pain from her, and her eyes blinked open.

"Kaz…" she rasped.

Her brother looked down at her. She saw dried blood dripping from his scalp and a small bruise on his jaw. But he seemed otherwise unharmed.

"Tesayumi, what were you doing out of bed?" he asked her, voice slightly strained.

He seemed more emotional than usual. Tesa stared at him.

"You used a Fusion…" she breathed.

Kaz sat her down on the cot. She winced a little in pain, but managed to keep from gasping again. Gray Fullbuster, an Ice Make mage with spiky black hair and an odd stripping habit, stood behind her brother, a worried grimace on his face. Tesa hadn't seen him since he went off on his mission with Natsu and the others. She and Gray had been good friends growing up. She felt a little ashamed letting him see her so weak and defeated.

"So did you guys win or what?" asked Tesa as Kaz stepped back.

He and Gray exchanged a look. Tesa frowned.

"What? What is it?" she asked.

Gray sighed and sat at the end of her bed, "Gramps… he got messed up in the battle. Some wizard there had wind magic… used a spell to drain all magical power on the Master. He's recovering at Porlyusica's place. He won't be fighting for a while though…"

Tesa stared, "Wh-what? Is he going to be okay?"

"He'll live," said Kaz, meeting her eyes, "But we were forced to retreat. I'm sorry, Tesa…" he bowed his head slightly, glaring at his feet, "I wasn't able to pay Gajeel back for what he did to you."

"That isn't your job," said Tesa firmly.

"Of course it is," Kaz said, eyes snapping up to meet hers, "You are my sister. And I will always defend you."

Tesa felt something swell in her chest painfully. She was touched that her twin cared so much. But she was devastated that he felt like she needed protecting so much. She wanted to be strong. She wanted Kaz not to have to worry about her at all. But her run in with Gajeel only proved how weak she really was.

"I don't understand…" Tesa shook her head, "What do they want?"

Gray looked at her, "You're not gonna believe it."

"What? What do you mean?" asked Tesa.

Gray held her gaze, "They want Lucy."

Tesa blinked rapidly, "Wait… what…? Lucy? Why?"

Kaz leaned against the wall by the cot, folding his arms, "Turns out she comes from nobility. The Heartfilia family."

"Heartfilia…?" breathed Tesa.

She'd heard vague things about that family. They were rich beyond reason. But Lucy had always struggled to pay rent! How was this possible?

"Yeah," Gray continued, "Her father wants her to come home. Apparently she ran away. I couldn't tell you the details. But I know she doesn't want to go back. They baited us to attack their Guild by beating you to a pulp so that they could get her. But Natsu just brought her back."

"So Loke was right," said Tesa, "She was in trouble…"

"She's fine now," said Gray, "Shaken, but fine," he looked at her, "And none of us are going to give her up, that's for sure."

Tesa gave a sharp nod of agreement. If Lucy didn't want to go back, Tesa was determined to keep her with Fairy Tail. She exchanged a glance with Kaz. They both knew all too well that there were several valid reasons for running away from a place that they once considered home. For all she knew, Lucy came from just a dysfunctional situation as them. They had to protect her.

"Where's Lucy?" asked Tesa, sitting up again, "I want to talk to her."

"Tesa, you shouldn't get up," Kaz said sharply.

"I can't just wait around here," Tesa said, meeting his gaze, "This is my fault. If I had been strong enough to fight Gajeel back, Lucy would have never been captured."

"That wouldn't have stopped Phantom Lord from coming after her one way or the other," said Kaz, standing up from the wall, "And there's nothing you can do in your condition."

Tesa felt the crushing weight of his words and glared at her hands. He was right. And that was the most painful part.

"Hey, Kaz, you don't have to be so-" Gray began but cut off when the whole room shook suddenly.

"What the-?" Gray looked up.

"Gray! Kaz!" Natsu's voice came from the stairs, "We've got a problem! Come on!"

"Stay here," Kaz said as he began to head for the stairs. He shot a glare at her over his shoulder, "And I mean it!"

"We can handle it, whatever it was," said Gray with a reassuring look before chasing after Kaz up the stairs.

Tesa grit her teeth.

"What's going on?" she muttered, swinging her legs back over the side again.

She knew Kaz was going to be furious with her, but she refused to just sit here. She summoned up all her strength and will power, and got to her feet. She limped to the stairs, and was forced to crawl up them. She made it to the top, her breath coming in heaves. The ruins of the Guild Hall was almost enough to make her take pause. She had so many fond memories here. This was place she first came to when she joined Fairy Tail. She remembered stepping inside with Kaz at her side and spotting Natsu and Gray fighting, the latter in nothing but his boxers. That had been the first time she had laughed in a long while, and that was the first thing any of the Guild heard from her, just some little girl stepping inside with her stoic brother and start laughing.

Phantom Lord would pay for what they had done!

"Come on," Tesa urged herself as she got to her feet, and slowly dragged herself outside.

The second she left the ruins of the Guild Hall, Tesa felt her jaw drop.

There was a massive piece of machinery heading toward them across the water. It looked like a castle on the back of some mechanical crab with a giant cannon on the front, aimed right at them, and charging a huge purple mass of magical power.

All of the Guild was out here, and Tesa arrived just in time to see Erza running forward and requipping into an armor Tesa hadn't seen in a long time.

"Adamantium armor?" shebreathed, "She's going to try and block that blast!"

"ERZA!" Natsu was trying to get to her, but Gray and Kaz were holding him back.

Erza's arms both made up what looked like two halves of one shield, and she placed them together, and a massive magic circle formed before her just as the blast from the thing in the water rocketed forward.

"Erza!" Tesa shouted as the blast hit her.

But the S Class mage held firm. The blast continued on, and Tesa watched in horror as Erza's armor slowly cracked around her. Finally, the blast broke through, but it seemed that was all it was able to do, for just as Erza fell back, it vanished. She had done it. She saved the Guild!

Erza rolled across the ground, her armor shattered, and then fading back to her normal under clothing. She laid there in the ground, unmoving. Natsu rushed to her side.

"Are you okay?" he gasped.

"Very good."

They all startled when the booming male voice reached them. They looked up to see that it had to be emanating from the machine across the water. Tesa didn't recognize the voice, but if she had to guess, she would say it was Phantom Lord's Guild Master.

"I must admit I'm impressed that you could stop that, Titania Erza. It will take fifteen minutes for the canon to recharge. You have until then to hand over Lucy Heartfilia, or your entire Guild will be destroyed.

"If you think we'd ever hand her over to you, you're insane!" Erza cried, propping herself up on her elbows.

"That's right!" Tesa shouted, forcing herself to move forward to where Lucy was standing.

Lucy turned, astonished, "T-Tesa? What are you doing up?"

Tesa kept her gaze on the machine out in the water, "Lucy is family!" she cried, "And we would_ never_ betray her!"

Lucy's eyes watered up, her hands pressed over her mouth as the Guild around them all roared in agreement. Tesa smiled at the blond girl, and Lucy lifted her face to the sky, sobbing. Tesa gently reached out and placed an arm around her, wincing a little in pain, but refusing to allow her grip to be weak.

Fairy Tail had taken her in during her greatest time of need. This place was her family. She would make sure that it was the same for Lucy.

Because that was what Fairy Tail was about.

Always had been.

So Tesa looked out at the machine in the water, her body still broken and weak, but she was more than prepared to fight. To fight, and to win.


End file.
